Continuum
by YourGenericNobody
Summary: Sometimes, life isn't fair. If this is true in your situation, then you must continue as if it was normal. Connor, a being that was created by defying the laws of nature, must put up with life and continue on. T for Team Fortress 2 ideals. Oh look, Chapter 3!
1. Prologue: Life and Death

_**Saffron City, March 30, 2043…**_

* * *

Rain was pouring down on a weak flame exposed by the gaping hole in Silph Company's enormous tower. A lone man, Floyd, too stubborn to leave his work, was too busy to notice a figure looming towards him.

One step.

Floyd rewired an entangled cord that was loose from the explosion.

Two steps.

Glancing at a cylindrical tank encasing a green translucent substance, the scientist entered the final pieces to the logical puzzle on his computer screen.

Four steps.

Now noticing a shadow near his left side, Floyd took one last look at the tube, breathed in deeply, and finally spun his chair a hundred and eighty degrees, hoping the Boss was behind him.

Floyd's face fell as he looked upon not his boss, rather a red-clad teenager glaring directly into the scientist's eyes-no, soul.

After a moment of silence that seemed like decades, realization slapped itself upon Floyd's face.

_This is Red_, he almost said aloud, _He's that kid the Boss wants killed._

"No!" the scientist's voice, on the contrary, blurted in despair, "Don't destroy my project! He has so much to live for! Please, don't kill either of us!"

Red's face, despite keeping a frown, shifted eyes from pure malice to worry but then confused. He looked up towards the tank and let in a minor gasp. Floyd decided to follow this gaze to the cylinder and changed his emotions to what he thought he would never experience: glee.

Cupping his hands, Floyd pushed aside the situation he was in and stepped over the cracked floor to the now-occupied tank. Every step he took, the embryo that was the project grew ever so quickly until it was the size of a newborn. With a gentle slide, the tank's exterior glass wall released the baby and the green liquid within the tube, the former landing softly on Floyd's hands.

Despite his confusion, Red couldn't help but crack a small smile at the sight he was bestowed.

* * *

_**Vermilion City, five hours after the attack on Silph Co…**_

* * *

As the former scientist, Floyd, and his new son returned to the older man's home, he almost couldn't contain his nostalgia when his front door was unlocked and opened by the same man. Floyd had grown up in this building, and when his parents died, being the only son, the ownership was passed down to him automatically. However, Floyd's excitement lowered when he came across a package labelled just for him.

"Huh," he muttered, "I guess Giovanni didn't forget entirely about me."

Contrary to his beliefs, the retired Rocket worker's box was labelled under the alias of Dell Conagher. Floyd almost forgot to carry his son inside, but he managed to put the child inside the crib, made weeks in advance, and _then_ pick up the shipment.

Taking out a blunt pair of scissors, Floyd cut apart the tape wrapped around the openings and pried the box open. A letter was inside the box, and that was it, much to Floyd's confusion.

Why couldn't this 'Dell' guy just bring an envelope, the former scientist thought until he came across one little tidbit.

The letter was apparently a draft for the newly developed child.

"What!" Floyd exclaimed before hushing himself, lucky not to wake up his kid, "He's only five hours old! Why would they do this?"

Sighing in dismay, the man looked outside the nearby window, seeing the S.S. Anne on the docks, then back down at the paper. He took a moment of thought before a light bulb seemed to flash above his head.

Floyd then mumbled, "I got it. I'll go ahead and tell him I refuse and go back home."

* * *

_**Area: [REDACTED], Date: March 30, 2043, Time: 9:53 pm…**_

* * *

As Floyd was arriving in the area he was supposed to go, he couldn't help but get a lump in his throat. He managed to step off the murky boat, almost camouflaged in the night sky, and carefully ambled over to the apparently-restricted entrance.

"BZZZT!" a loud, buzzing sound filled the air before a mature female voice spoke, "Identity, please."

Unknown to Floyd, a camera zoomed in on him as he pulled out the written draft while carrying his sleeping son. The buzzing wavered again before the voice interrupted Floyd before he could speak.

"Identity confirmed, Mr. Cunningham. Enter, please."

The grimy gates shuddered before sliding away from each other in front of Floyd. Feeling he was being watched, the former scientist moved his feet one step at a time towards the almost-invisible building nearby.

The scene changed dramatically as Floyd entered the structure, almost as if he was teleported into a whole new world. Everything was bathed in light, and the walls were painted a contrasting snow white. He was greeted by a smiling hard-hatted construction worker.

"Well, howdy there," the man greeted, "Name's Dell. I had a feeling you'd show up."

Floyd, taken aback by the name, only managed a "Hello."

"I see you have your so-_What in Sam hell is that?!_"

Dell was right. This was no ordinary child. Although it had every detail of a Snivy, from the auburn eyes to the leaf-green tail, the boy had more human-like limbs. The construction worker had his jaw hanging.

"That there is _one_ tarnation," Dell stated the not-so-nice truth.

Floyd was furious by now. "This is _my_ son, will anything change due to his 'form'?"

"Ah'm sorry, Floyd. I forgot my manners, but nothing will change."

"Oh-"

"_But_ we need the child. Ah'm sorry to do this, but you know _too_ much," Dell looked away before pulling out a pistol aimed directly at the former scientist's face.

Before Floyd could react to this, the worker pulled the trigger. This woke up the child, and Dell looked up to find the baby.

"Shh, it's okay," the worker tried to soothe the baby, "You need to have a name, though. How about Connor?"

The little kid tried to say his new name through sniffles, "Commor?"

Despite the situation Dell was in, he couldn't help but chuckle at the attempt.

"No, no, your name is Connor," the worker said through his little fit of giggles.

"Nnn?" Connor attempted.

"Nnn."

"Connur."

"Connor."

Dell could tell the kid already had his attention. Following the "conversation", Connor tried to wrap his arms around the older man's stomach, with Dell returning the favor.

* * *

_**A/N: Whew! My first *cough* real *cough* story has started! Sorry if I'm sort of all over the place.**_

_**Not much to say, here. Just a really long prologue… I think.**_

_**Dell: You didn't tell anyone the disclaimer.**_

_**Me: Aw, [REDACTED]!**_

_**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed.**_

_**DISCLAIMER: If you did own Pokémon and Team Fortress 2, they would be one series.**_

_**Me: Huh? But I don't own either of them!**_

_**DISCLAIMER: I know.**_


	2. Chapter 1: Walk

_**A/N: AAAAAND WE'RE BACK!**_

_**DISCLAIMER: If I owned Pokémon and Team Fortress 2, I would have put them together.**_

* * *

_**Area: Teufort Lobby, Date: March 30, 2043, Time: 10:12 pm…**_

* * *

Connor, now officially recruited as a Scout, was led by Dell to the main lobby of Teufort and turned left towards a room with six occupied beds, two empty beds, and a basket that Dell had just placed. When the Engineer pointed his finger towards the straw clump inside the basket and tried his best to explain what it does, Connor crawled over to it and automatically closed his eyes. Looking at the sight, Dell would bet that even the war veteran would call Connor adorable in this position.

_Off ta' bed,_ he thought, _This'll be one helluva' surprise for the rest._

* * *

_**Area: Teufort Respawn, Date: March 31, 2043, Time: 6:48 am…**_

* * *

"_Wake up, if you know what's good for you!_" Jane Doe yelled out at the top of his lungs.

Even this didn't wake up Connor, who was still snoozing away peacefully. Dell, on the other hand, groaned through the routine wake-up call by the Soldier. He had a lot of explaining to do, but Dell, as well as the rest of the group, had the day off of the usual battles.

"Well," the Engineer started, "I have a ton of _'splaining_ to do, Mister Jane Doe!"

The Soldier somehow ignored Dell's shouting, evidenced by their gazes not interlocking and Jane Doe still pacing around the room. In response to this, the Engineer picked himself up off the bed, walked over to the Soldier, who was still rambling about waking everyone up, and gave him a hard punch to the back. Despite being tough and hard to hurt, Jane Doe straightened his spine in agony.

Dell shrugged at this, stating, "I didn't mean to hit that hard."

The war veteran quickly stood up as if he never felt a fly touch him, eyes blazing in fury. He stomped over to Dell, shouting even louder than before, "You, sir, have a _lot_ of explaining to do!"

"Yes, I do, mister," the Engineer retorted, expecting the remark.

Pointing over to the basket, Dell quickly explained, "This is what need 'splaining. I need everyone awake, you got that?"

Instead of acknowledging the statement, Jane Doe peeked over the Engineer's shoulder and saw the snake-like Pokémon-human cross, and his jaw dropped in surprise. As if on cue, Connor opened his eyes lazily, having not a clue what was going on. Just as the Soldier was about to laugh at the serpent, Dell covered the veteran's mouth with his left hand and looked back at Connor, who was busy yawning without covering such action.

The Engineer let off his hand from Jane Doe's mouth and slowly stepped toward the sleepy serpent, careful not to provoke him.

"Why, mornin' there, Connor," Dell almost whispered in his best attempt at a soothing voice, "I bet ya' want some food for ya'."

Connor, despite being sleepy, visibly perked up at the word "food", and his stomach started rumbling softly as if on cue. This time, the Soldier couldn't contain his laughter, so his giggles turned into a roar of laughter, surprising the little snake.

"Food," Connor turned his head back to Dell, "Hungry."

Before the Engineer could turn his head from Jane Doe to Connor, the latter started a little cute chuckle that caught even the former's attention.

"Adorable," both adults said simultaneously, "Jinx."

Jane Doe soon started an argument with Dell about who said adorable first, while the tiny snake started crawling away towards the Resupply Cabin, babbling gibberish that could hardly be understood on the way.

"No, I said it first!" the war veteran said, "And why did I say 'adorable' in the first place?!"

"If ya' don't know why," Dell began, "I should get the beers!"

"That is _not_ the way it works, hippie," Jane Doe glanced at the table near the pantry that had a pack of beer, "Five bucks says I get it first!"

"Oh no ya' don't!"

The two adults then broke down into a cartoonish fight with cloud smoke and all.

* * *

Meanwhile, Connor successfully made it to the Resupply, the doors opening automatically. The serpent looked around for something edible to his eyes and found a small mouse trapped in a corner. His pupils narrowed into cat-like slits before grabbing the rodent with lightning speed and gobbled it up; to him, it tasted delicious.

Feeling satisfied, Connor turned around to crawl back before remembering what the adults did and said.

"Walk," the child quietly requested his legs.

After nothing happened for a few seconds, he got an idea. Not knowing the manners to thank his luck, the reptile used his human-like limbs to grab onto a leg of a stool next to the table. Connor tried to pull himself upwards, and after succeeding, he put a leg in front of him… and fell over. Instead of crying, though, he persevered and it took one more failed attempt before he could take slow steps with the help of the stool.

Then, Connor decided to let go of the chair leg, and he succeeded in waddling over to the still-fighting Engineer and Soldier. As soon as one of the adults managed to peek away from the action, Dell being the first one, they both ceased exchanging fists; it was as if the youngest was in charge of the oldest for a moment.

"I guess he saw us fighting over beer," Jane Doe blurted out the obvious.

Dell chimed in sarcastically, "I can see that."

They glanced at each other before looking at Connor, then back again, firmly shaking hands.

"Well, that settles that."

After saying that, the Engineer proceeded to kneel down, asking in his civilized tongue, "So, Connor, how about we go training?"

"Training?" the snake repeated, trying to say the word.

"Yeah," Dell nodded in confirmation while Connor mirrored the movement questioningly.

"Yeah," Connor chose to repeat and nodded one more time.

With that, the construction worker stood back up, turned around, and waited for the serpent to catch up before walking slowly with Connor.

_This is gonna be a long day_, Dell thought with a slight frown.

* * *

_**A/N: I did the second Chapter! Yayyyyyy!**_

_**Connor: Walk.**_

_**Me: Ok! *Walks over to Connor and picks him up***_

_**Connor: Nobody!**_

_**Me: I'll take that as a compliment.**_

_**Tune in next time for chapter 2!**_


	3. Chapter 2: Intelligence

_**A/N: Do I have to repeat the disclaimer?**_

…

_**No? Ok.**_

* * *

_**Area: Teufort Balcony, RED Side, Date: March 31, 2043, Time: 6:59 am…**_

* * *

It took a few minutes to get used to it, but Connor managed to walk at about the same pace as Dell's slow amble, if not faster; the Engineer took note of this when he looked down. Eventually, the two arrived at the balcony where the Administrator told them to train, and when Dell kneeled down, the tiny serpent tilted his head up at him, asking his first sentence, "What's training?"

The worker maintained his composure while replying, "Training is when ya' learn to fight the other people," he pointed outwards toward a blue building, "They are the BLU team, and ya' gotta fight 'em."

"Why?" Connor added to his question.

"I dunno why, Connor," Dell answered, "Ya' just gotta get 'em. Now, you're small, cute, and that will confuse the BLU's."

Connor thought for a moment until he responded, "What will dat do?"

Even though he was internally surprised for the fact that Connor could speak more than two words, the Engineer helped the snake with visuals, saying, "It will let their guard down, and then you can fight 'em; they won't know what hit 'em!"

"Dey won't know what hit 'em!" the leafy serpent repeated with enthusiasm.

"That's the way ya' do it!" another voice suddenly exclaimed.

Although Dell knew who this Scottish accent belonged to, Connor looked around vigorously for the source; he ended up landing on a tall black man with an eyepatch on his left eye and a beer bottle held in his right hand.

"Oy!" the Demoman yelled in his drunken stupor, "Ye found me, snake!"

"Tavish," the annoyed hard-hatted worker stated, "Ya' shouldn't be drunk in front of a child."

The Scottish man replied, "Don't worry, mate, I'll be fine!"

Launching two spiked glowing spheres near the edge, Tavish jumped off said edge and detonated the bombs, sending him flying to the BLU team's side. Connor looked up at Dell, who was holding out his hand, and jumped on the man's shoulder instead. Together, they jumped off the edge of the building to walk across the bridge.

* * *

_**Area: Teufort, BLU Side, Date: UNKNOWN, Time: UNKNOWN…**_

* * *

"Go, go, go!" Dell whispered to the green snake, "Ya' don't wanna be caught!"

Connor only nodded in response as a blue-painted cardboard Medic popped up, seeming to come from the ground.

"Attack!" the hard-hatted man exclaimed while the serpent tried holding the scattergun just right, only resulting in a worse spot to aim.

Just after Connor aimed directly at the wooden structure, a buzzing noise filled the halls.

"Alert!" a mature female voice echoed through the alarms, "RED Engineer and Scout in the base!"

The sound of battle cries zoomed towards Dell and Connor, the latter crying his eyes out; everything went black.

* * *

"_AAAAHHH!_" the Engineer howled out with pure fear and remorse.

He looked around frantically to see himself in the cube-like area between pipes of BLU's sewers; Dell felt relieved for only a fraction of time before he thought something, or some_one_, was missing.

_Connor._

"Damnit, damnit, damnit!" he held his head in frustration and stomped his left foot repeatedly on the ground.

Not one to give in easily, the man glanced furiously around for anything green and moving but to no avail. A twinge of guilt suddenly hit his heart like the thousands of pellets punching his skin. What if Connor had wandered off deeper into the BLU team's base? What if he got hurt and respawned?

_No,_ Dell thought the most defiant thing he could, _I gotta find him and bring him back._

* * *

_**Area: Teufort Intelligence Room (TIR), BLU side, Date: March 31, 2043, Time: 8:14 am…**_

* * *

Curiously stepping down a rather bland wooden staircase, Connor looked around for anything to play with, spinning his head toward anything that moved or made sound. He wandered about for a few minutes before finding a lighter-blue object than the rest of the interior; Connor's eyes sparkled, thinking that it would ease his boredom.

"Play!" the grass snake exclaimed while sprinting towards the box with his human-like hands stretched out.

* * *

Meanwhile, Dell traversed hallway after hallway in the other team's building for the last ten minutes when he heard an alarm down towards the Intel Room; he thought the worst possible thing that might've happened to the child that was Connor.

_He's got the Intelligence! Connor's gonna die if I don't act fast!_

* * *

_**A/N: Ooooh, cliffhangers! I wonder what'll happen!**_

_**…Oh wait, I **_**do**_** know!**_

_**...Crap, this is a real short chapter. Oh well...**_

_**Watch out for Numero Tres! (That's Number Three, guys.)**_


	4. Chapter 3: Curiosity

_**A/N: Hey, hold my fist.**_

…

_**CHAPTER THREEEEEEEEEEE!**_

_**404 Ownership not found! Try again next time.**_

* * *

_**Area: T.I.R., BLU Side, Date: March 31, 2043, Time: 8:17 am…**_

The situation Dell was in made him think of an analogy comparing his sentry gun; as soon as someone finds out where the machine is, they're going to do whatever it takes to destroy it.

_The same thing'll apply to Connor if he doesn't act fast_, the Engineer finished the thought while sprinting towards the suitcase located on his compass.

Glancing down at the Intel Finder, Dell sprinted as fast as he could down the spiraling slopes that also led to the room where Connor was. Making sure he wasn't caught was top priority, and having the snake drop the suitcase was next on his mental list.

"There's the Intel!" a Scout that the Engineer knew all too well ripped his words off his mouth. "Uh… How's it moving by itself?"

Dell had no time to relieve himself as he was busy barging in; he was instead glad that question was asked before him. The Intelligence _was_ moving, but it was moving on top of the familiar serpent. Then there was another situation: convincing the enemy Scout to put back his team's Intel while Dell and Connor walked back to their base. It was risky, but the man had to take the chance.

"Whatcha' doin' here, goggles?" the BLU member questioned Dell. "I bet you're gonna take dat Intelligence. In fact, I'll jus-"

Interrupting the soon-to-be monologue, the Engineer quickly stated. "This ain't none o' your business, Scout. Just let me show you who did this…"

Despite all attempts to punch Dell, the Scout was always blocked by Dell's left hand while his right hand reached out to lift off the suitcase, albeit slowly; Connor emerged from under, his reptilian tail the last to be revealed.

The BLU member started stammering, "W-w-what is _dat_?! Sure ain't no human!"

"This is Connor," the hard-hatted man introduced with disdain. "and you better not kill 'him. Until Monday, we're off training here."

"Y'know, dat ain't supposed ta' be allowed!"

"Well it _is_ allowed, alright?"

Running off with several cuss words in tow, the Scout left the other two people.

"Now, listen, Connor," Dell started his sentence, "I don't know why you picked up the suitcase, but you're not supposed to do that."

There was no response; the little serpent only looked down towards his cream-colored feet.

The Engineer sighed in disappointment to himself, but then he got a childish thought, creasing the corners of his mouth upward. "I may be hard on you, but you'll get to play with it another time. Wanna try somethin'?"

"...What?" Connor asked, still down about not being allowed to play with the BLU's Intel.

Dell hesitated for a moment, instantly regretting the thought before pushing such remorse away. "Tag," the older of the two challenged, poking the young reptile and adding, "You're it."

The game ensued, and it was the time of their lives.

* * *

_**Area: Teufort Respawn, RED Side, Time: 8:43 am…**_

Tuckered out from all the running, Dell finally decided to take Connor back to the Resupply Locker, teaching the serpent to always use the supplies to heal himself; the adult also told the confused boy that if they got hurt, this locker would replenish their ammo _and_ health. After a long time explaining the process, Dell eventually gave up trying and simply told Connor that the snake would find out later.

However, Dell quickly found the rest of the RED team standing in the main lobby, seemingly waiting for him.

The Medic of the team spoke first. "Vat vere you thinking?! You put us _all_ in danger of being _fired_!"

"Doktor is right, Engineer," the Heavy agreed. "You have _so much explaining_ to do."

Dell gulped, not knowing what to say without revealing Connor's time on the other side; he decided to be honest. "Yes, Mikash, I do have explaining ta' do. Y'see here-"

Then the sound of glass breaking pierced the air. The Sniper, who was watching the whole episode, finally broke the silence followed, saying, "Now whazzat?"

"Oui," the nonchalant Spy responded after Sniper. "I would also like to know."

Another clang was heard, prompting Dell to bolt after the source, but he was soon stopped by a rocket-jumping Soldier. "How about showing them?" Jane Doe whispered into the Engineer's ear, the latter quizzically giving the former a look before understanding.

Turning around, Dell said, "I'll show you what's going on; follow me."

The rest of the team glanced at each other, unsure of the sudden change of emotion being true or not; eventually they followed the hard-hat. Peeking around the corner, all of them, save for the ones that knew of Connor, were either gaping in shock or piqued with interest.

"Is this a Snivy?" the Medic spoke once more, earning another round of looks from everyone. He merely shrugged. "I studied anatomy of most living creatures, including Pokémon; this is one of them."

The countenance of Dell's face changed into realization. "So he's not _entirely_ human?"

"Ja, Herr Dell," the doctor replied confidently, but that confidence melted away when he said, "Vait, vat do you mean 'human'?"

* * *

Unbeknownst to the mercenaries, Connor had studied the entire conversation, even pausing long enough to sit down and cross his human-like legs. The young serpent thought of it as learning when he heard the words he didn't know: _Pokémon_, _human_, and _anatomy_. Bewildered by those terms, Connor leaned forward ever so slightly to the people talking.

_What's a Pokémon?_ he almost asked aloud, but he kept his mouth shut; he wanted to hear what those terms meant. However, the definitions never came out.

"I mean, Connor looks like a human in physique," Dell answered, causing the reptilian hybrid to perk up at his spoken name. "But he's all reptilian otherwise."

Yet another word Connor didn't recognize.

"Doc," the Sniper started. "Maybe he's… what's the word? Ah! Maybe he's a hybrid of a Pokeyman and a human? I could've sworn 'e mouthed English jus' a second ago."

All eyes in the room turned towards the serpent, causing Connor to look back with wide eyes. The gazes softened at the fearful display but still had some firmness leftover.

"He does look like a human," the Spy said, suddenly interested. "He looks like a reptile, too."

This time Connor spoke up after a long silence. "What's a human?"

Gasps took up an immense volume in the room. "He speaks!" the Demoman exclaimed with a little too much enthusiasm.

"Of course he can speak, Tavish," Dell retorted back at the drunk man.

Another storm of silence fell upon them all.

"Vell," the Medic said with a stretch of his gloves. "Let's go to the restaurant. I'm starving!"

"Yeah!" the adults cheered with high-fives; they certainly agreed.

"I'm hungry!" Connor complained jokingly, eliciting chuckles from everyone else.


	5. Chapter 4: Food and Education, Part 1

_**Achievement Locked! Ownership**_

_**Let's get this over with. *cracks knuckles***_

* * *

_**Area: Highway ?, Date: March 31, 2043, Time: 9:09 am…**_

* * *

The trip to the restaurant took longer than Connor hoped; he hadn't received any answers to the questions he asked, being hushed whenever he attempted to do so. He figured the adults wanted to eat instead. Connor glanced out the window of what he learned was a truck, viewing the blurred landscape, a desolate road with decaying plants, pass by without a fuss.

Then a giant, healthier-looking plant was visible, and one by one, lots of similar plants started obstructing Connor's vision. "What're those?" he inquired, feeling an unknown urge to get into the light.

Dell, sitting next to Connor, eventually replied, "Those are trees, Connor. They can make food for themselves and other creatures."

"Can I get closer?"

Air got caught in the hardhat's mouth before he could answer. He didn't want to upset the kid _too_ much. "Maybe, but not now," the man simply responded.

"I'm thirsty," Connor complained.

"We can get you some water when we…" Dell trailed off when the truck hit a bump. "We're here."

"Yay!" the serpent exclaimed, raising his fists into the air.

Dell suddenly grew nervous about how the people would react. Cautiously, "Don't get out yet, Connor."

"Why not?"

The Engineer bit his lip, unable to respond for a few moments. "I don't want you to get hurt, okay?"

"Okay…"

"I'll be back soon," the hardhat promised. "Just stay where you are."

"Yes, sir!" Connor acknowledged, mimicking Soldier's salute.

Smiling at the cute display, Dell closed the door as slow as possible.

* * *

_**Area: Whataburger Parking Lot, Time: UNKNOWN…**_

* * *

Connor waited somewhat impatiently, looking around the inside of the truck. Wondering how long the men were taking, the little snake started crawling over the empty seats curiously; one thing he found up front was a digital clock which showed numbers that made little sense to him.

"Nine…One…Six...A…M…What does that mean?" he said to nobody, cocking his head in confusion.

Then he found a red button, small yet obvious, right next to the jargon that was the clock. "Button!" he exclaimed, excited and reaching out to press said button.

The next thing Connor knew, he was staring at a lady in purple, donning some lenses for some purpose. "Hello?" the woman called through the screen.

"Hi!" the serpent replied, completely oblivious to the woman's wide eyes.

"Oh! Are you Connor?" the unknown lady asked, remembering not to stare at someone for too long.

"Yeah," the kid answered with confusion. "Who're you?"

"My name is Miss Pauling," she responded before lightly scolding, "Don't forget it, young man."

"Why can't I forget your name?" Connor questioned.

"I'm the secretary of RED," Miss Pauling slowly said. "I've worked with a Scout like you before. A human one. Don't mention him though."

"Why not?"

Sighing, the brunette suddenly raised her voice, saying, "Just don't talk about him near me, okay?"

"Okay…"

"Don't give me that face," Miss Pauling seethed, already being asked too many questions. She did a one-eighty degree turn, though, politely telling Connor, "Now, do you see a box behind you?"

Curiously, the kid turned around, finding the same container directly behind him. "Yeah. What's in it?"

"There's a set of…" Pauling struggled to find a different word for weapons. "Things. They will help in combat against the BLU team tomorrow. Do you remember that blue box earlier this morning?"

"…Yeah."

"That's what you try to get in a game of Capture the Flag."

"Capture the Flag?"

"Yes," the lady on the screen confirmed. "You need to get that blue briefcase and take it to where the red case starts at. You'll be given a compass that points the direction of both cases, sometimes called 'Intelligences', but once you get the blue one, the red one disappears from the compass. I don't know how _that_ works, so don't ask me."

"Okay?" Connor responded, obviously confused. "What happens if I take it to the red?"

"You win the game with your team," Pauling said. "But you have to _work_ as a team. I've got to go now. Bye!"

"Wait-!" the snake started but was interrupted by the screen turning black.

"Okay, Connor, we're back!" Dell gleefully said before opening the door.

"Yay! Drink!" the kid cheered before snatching his drink away from the hardhat and sipping out of it. "Mmm!"

"Oy!" Tavish called from behind. "Dell, come help us some more!"

"Got it!"

The mercenaries left the parking lot after loading the truck with their lunches (except Connor's) and set out for the base.

* * *

_**Area: Teufort Lobby, RED Side, Time: 12:34 pm…**_

* * *

Making sure Connor was fast asleep, Dell closed the door behind him slowly and set out for the dining room to finish his lunch, bumping into the Medic in the process.

"Oh!" the mad doctor exclaimed from the jostle. "Excuse me, Herr Dell."

"It's fine, sir," Dell replied before noticing a stack of papers in the other man's hands. "Whatcha' got there?"

"Just some papers for ze little Schlange," the Medic simply answered.

The Engineer nodded but became suspicious. "You mean Connor? He's asleep, so I wouldn't disturb him."

Taken aback slightly, Arnold quickly said, "I'm giving him an education, Herr Engineer! Connor vill need somezing to learn!"

"But isn't it a little too early?"

"How many days has it been since he joined?"

"Erm…" Dell stuttered, recalling the day Connor was recruited. "Less than one, I believe."

"And he's already capable of forming English sentences, right?"

Dell thought over the situation and understood. "You're right. But we shouldn't do it right this second! He's asleep!"

"Ja, Herr Dell," Arnold admitted. "I shall save zese papers for later, but ve vill teach him as soon as possible!"

Nodding in agreement, the two men went back to their original paths and continued on with the afternoon, the conversation still fresh in their minds.

* * *

_**Area: Connor's Room, Time: 12:42 pm…**_

* * *

Connor couldn't sleep; he had heard the entire conversation from Dell and that Arnold guy, and the little snake knew that they were talking about him. _Education_. The word stuck to his mind like a parasitic fungus on an insect, and he had to figure out what it means.

With a moment of resolution, Connor ripped the covers off him and walked towards the door, only to find he couldn't reach the handle! Not even a jump could get him to grab hold of it, but Connor was determined. Eyes frantically searching the room, he spotted a chair which had the seat above his eye level. _Perfect!_ He thought as he pushed the wooden chair with enough force to get to the door.

The snake climbed up the chair and found the doorknob merely inches away from his face, begging to be turned. With a click, the door opened.

Now he could get some answers.


End file.
